SnowTech • December 2009 To subscribe call 1-320-763

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H
ere's a great circle tour for adventurous trail riders; a
three to five day run around the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area in Minnesota and Quetico Provincial
Park in far western Ontario. This is some of the most remote
riding one can find in the lower 48, and for Canadians the far
western section of Ontario is very wild and the trails are
uncrowded, to say the least.
The circle tour gives you nearly 500 miles of pristine and
awesome trails. You will go for many miles and not see
another sled. Yet, gas stops, small communities and friendly
resorts along the way are close enough to keep you comfortable and keep your gas tank full.
On the U.S. side, you can start anywhere you would like
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SnowTech • December 2009
Big lakes and big trails await you along the
Minnesota/Ontario border, along with vast expanses of
woods and hills. A 500-mile circle tour around Ontario's
Quetico Provincial Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area in Minnesota makes for an incredible cross-border
snowmobile adventure. Very light traffic with few snowmobilers and friendly pit stops make for some incredible riding.
The riding season usually starts around the first of the year,
and is usually good right through March and often times
into April.
all the way from Crane Lake to Gunflint Lake, all you need is
somewhere to park your trailer. Generally this would be at a
lodge, motel or resort where you plan on starting and ending
your trip, and there are many along the way (Crane Lake,
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Buyck, Tower, Ely, Isabella, Grand Marias are all great start
points).
A counter-clockwise route is suggested, as the only U.S.
Customs office for re-entry into the U.S. is at Crane Lake.
Ontario and Minnesota trail permits would be required; as
you enter Canada from Gunflint Lake, the first resort on the
Canadian side is Northern Lights Lodge (807) 933-5025 and
they can sell you a three day ($90) or seven day ($120) OFSC
trail permit, or you can just get the season trail permit for
($230). You can also get an OFSC permit ahead of time. You
will want to check both Canadian and U.S. Customs requirements, and you will also need Canadian Remote Border
Crossing Permits. Links for this can be found on the
Aitikokan snowmobile club website.
The northern Canadian loop starts at Gunflint Lake, 35
miles by trail Northwest of Grand Marias, MN. From
Gunflint Lake North to Kashabowie it is about 65 miles on
the L902M club trail. At Kashabowie take OFSC “A” trail
West about 81 miles to Aitikokan. Then take club trail
L601M West 15 miles to Perch Lake, where you take club
trail L901M Southwest about 70 miles to Crane Lake, MN.
Here you will enter the U.S. and clear customs, taking
Voyager Trail 203 and Arrowhead State Trail 62 about 75
miles to Tower, MN. From Tower it is about 28 miles on
Taconite State Trail 61 to the fine town of Ely, MN. From Ely
you take the Tomahawk Trail 155 to the snow capital of
Minnesota, Isabella, a 56 mile run. Isabella to Grand Marias
continues along the Tomahawk Trail 155 and then takes the
Northshore State Trail 60 East for a total of 91 miles.
Seasoned riders can do this easily in a couple of days.
Start at Grand Marias, MN and it's about 100 miles to
Kashabowie, ON. Gas up and continue another 80+ miles on
to Aitikokan and spend the night. Day 2 continue West and
South almost 90 miles to Crane Lake, gas and chow and it's
just over 100 miles to Ely. Spend the night and you have
about 100 miles to go back to Grand Marias. The possibilities
are endless. It's not quite 500 miles, so you could make it a
couple of days or take as many as five days, its all good.
SnowTech Magazine riders have ridden this area many
times over the years and can testify to the remote riding experience and great trails that you will encounter. Extra gas and a
tow rope are smart to have, but the wide open expanses and
very few riders on the trails makes for some great riding. For
more information on this circle tour, visit the website for the
Atikokan Sno-Ho snowmobile club www.aitikokansnoho.com
and plan your route today.
Or subscribe online at www.snowtechmagazine.com
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